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Mrs Ford, and her husband Alex, 28, chose Meadbank as it was near their home and they could visit three times a week, but they found her mother increasingly weak.

Breaking down in tears, Mrs Ford told the inquest: 'Yes she was old, yes she had dementia, but she didn't deserve to be starved to death.

'My mother went into that home bright and happy and talkative and on the day she left she was practically in a coma. When I went there she always wanted water and seemed thirsty. I made complaints constantly and nothing was done.'

Cause of death was given as a lung infection caught in hospital, but the pathologist told the inquest the dehydration could have weakened her immunity.

Westminster coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said that Mrs Matthews had 'hugely high sodium levels, which suggest she was extremely dehydrated'.

She added: 'I've been told she had a bleeding, cracked mouth and mouth ulcers. No one should be allowed to dehydrate to this level in a nursing home of any sort, let alone one run by Bupa.

'Because we cannot say that is why she died, I must record a verdict of natural causes.'

Lorna Rose, of Bupa Care Homes, said: 'Mrs Matthews was very frail when she came to stay with us and had already shown significant weight loss before entering the home.

'We worked hard to give her the best possible level of care and would spend anything up to an hour to feed her at each mealtime.

'She was also being given food and drink supplements supplied by the hospital and being treated by her GP for a mouth infection.

'We always strive to raise our standards of care even higher. Whilst the coroner recorded a verdict of natural causes, we've already taken steps to see if there is anything we can learn.

'We would like to send our condolences to Mrs Matthews's family.'

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Pensioner died after a month in Bupa care home where she was given just a thimbleful of water a day